The present invention relates to a new and distinct variety of Colocasia commonly known as the taro plant or elephant ears. Colocasia is grown as a food crop or for use as an ornamental for container or the landscape. The new cultivar is known botanically as Colocasia esculenta and will be referred to hereinafter by the cultivar named ‘KONA COFFEE’.
Colocasia is a tuberous rooted perennial which is native to tropical Asia and Polynesia. It grows to 1.5-2 m in height from starchy tubers. The leaves of Colocasia are heart-shaped and very large in size. The tuberous roots are cooked and eaten as a starchy staple in many tropical areas. It is also grown as ornamental plants for the landscape in warmer climates or as a container plant in colder areas.
The new Colocasia variety named ‘KONA COFFEE’ is the product of a formal breeding program carried out in a cultivated area in Kula, Hi. The purpose of the breeding program is to develop new commercial varieties by combining attributes not found in currently commercially available varieties.
‘KONA COFFEE’ is a seedling selection from the controlled pollination between the two unreleased and unpatented seedlings developed during the breeding program and known to the inventor as ‘2002-26’ (female parent) and ‘2005-51’ (male parent). Initially designated as ‘2006-111’, ‘KONA COFFEE’ was selected from the resulting seedling population in 2006.
‘KONA COFFEE’ may be compared with its parents as follows:
‘KONA COFFEE’ bears glossy dark purple to almost black leaves. The leaves of the female parent are of similar color but matte in texture. A single plant of ‘KONA COFFEE’ is approximately one-quarter to one-third smaller in overall size in comparison with its female parent. The leaves of the male parent are dark green and glossy, with a slightly undulating margin. The leaves of the male parent are two to three times larger than the leaves of ‘KONA COFFEE’.
The closest comparison variety known to the inventor is Colocasia ‘Black Magic’ (unpatented). Whereas ‘KONA COFFEE’ produces uniform dark purple to almost black colored leaves with a glossy finish, the leaves of ‘Black Magic’ are similarly dark purple to almost black but are smaller in size and have a matte appearance.
The most commonly employed means of asexual propagation of the genus Colocasia is the excision and replanting of a plant shoot which consists of the apical 1 cm-2 cm portion of the plant corm with the attached basal 15 cm-20 cm portion of the petiole. In regions of the world where Colocasias are grown, this plant shoot is known as a “huli”, and the means of propagation is known as “huli propagation”. The inventor first asexually propagated ‘KONA COFFEE’ by this method in 2006 is his growing grounds in Hawaii. Evaluation in field studies have shown the unique features of ‘KONA COFFEE’ to be stable, uniform, and to reproduce true to type in successive generations of asexual propagation.